Okonomiyaki – Kansai style
Okonomiyaki is considered a Japanese savory pancake. The main additions are chopped fresh cabbage, often meat, fish, and seafood. After frying, the pancake is covered with a special sauce that resembles a bit of BBQ sauce. Japanese mayonnaise is also added, if desired, along with tuna flakes, pickled ginger, seaweed pieces, and green onions.
There are broadly two different types of Okonomiyaki: the Kansai or Osaka type and the Hiroshima type. I made the Kansai type for New Year’s Eve in 2024.
Preparation time: About 20 minutes
Level: Rather easy
Quantity: For two
Ingredients:
One small juicy fresh cabbage, root removed and cut into thin strips with a knife
2 large eggs
100 g flour
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
8 slices bacon
4-6 tbsp okonomiyaki sauce
5-6 tbsp Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise
A little tuna flakes
A little dried wakame seaweed
A small handful of chopped green onions
0.25 tsp sea salt and a pinch of black pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp cooking oil for frying
Okonomiyaki sauce
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp ketchup or tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
Preparation:
- Chop the cabbage into thin strips.
- Mix the flour, sea salt, black pepper, eggs, and mix until smooth.
- Add the chopped cabbage to the mixture and mix until the cabbage is evenly mixed with the batter.
- Heat the cooking oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.
- Place two slices of bacon in the pan, add ¼ of the cabbage batter, and press with a spatula to the width of the bacon slices. Cover with a lid and fry for 3-5 minutes until the bacon is browned.
- Cook all four pancakes in this way.
- While the pancakes are frying, prepare the sauce. To do this, mix together the oyster sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste or ketchup, and sugar in a bowl.
- When the pancakes are ready, place them on a plate with the bacon half on top and spread generously with the okonomiyaki sauce. You will need a little more than one tablespoon of sauce per pancake.
- Make stripes over the sauce with Japanese mayonnaise and decorate as desired.
- Sprinkle with chopped green onions and, if desired, dried tuna flakes, and dried wakame seaweed strips, and serve with pickled ginger.
Ready!!
